Riga Next: Our Mixed Trials Victory
The Swedish Mixed Trails
The Swedish mixed trials took place from 30th of January until 1st of February and the conditions were clear; the top two pairs would be automatically selected for the team. The third pair would then be elected by the top two finishers together with the NPC. With 12 pairs participating, 11 boards against each pair meant we would be playing 121 boards in total over the weekend.
Since the two of us practically share first names, Andreas will be referred to by his last name, Abragi, throughout this article. That’s the nickname he usually goes by anyways 🙂
Friday: A Flying Start
On the first day we had a lot of excitement and most things went our way.
It was absolutely a benefit for our pair that the bridge started in the afternoon so we didn’t have to worry about a morning match.
You can never be too aggressive supporting your partner right? Not according to Abragi, in this deal:
Abragi opened 1♣ in third seat as north. East tried a 1♥ overcall with their 4-card suit, which gave Andrea the chance to nuance her 1♠ response. We use double to show exactly 4 spades, so her 1♠ bid promised 5+♠. West jumped to 4♥. Abragi now looked into a fine trick source in clubs and a partner who seemingly had short hearts judging from opponents bidding and him holding 3 hearts himself. He tried 4♠ which got passed out after a minute long pause from west.
♥A lead and a low ♣ shift. Andrea was not sure if the hesitation indicated eagerness to double or to sacrifice, two options which suggested two completely different ways to play the hand. She decided to finesse with the queen of clubs and lead ♠Q. When covered, all she had to do was draw trumps and claim 10 tricks for +420.
Friday was over and after the first 30 boards we were leading with 68vps out of 100 and +1.57 in the butler. This is our first time playing a serious tournament together, and we have since the summer been practicing a lot and we are very good friends that discuss a lot of boards with each other on a daily basis. It was not a surprise for us that we were often on the same page as it comes with few misunderstandings.
Saturday: Staying on Track
South opened 1♦ in third seat. Andrea passed and so did north. Abragi now came back with a light balancing double. South redoubled and Andrea had a few options; pass (which suggests defending 1♦xx), a heart bid or the cuebid she decided on at the table. She bid 2♦ and raised Abragi’s 2♥ to game. On the layout that was no problem and we scored a light +420 once again.
3NT: What They Didn’t Bid
Andrea got a play problem in 3NT on this hand, declaring as west. She had opened 1♣ in third seat, promising at least two, over which north overcalled 1♥. Abragi preempted with 3♣ and south supported to 3♥ before Andrea placed the final contract in 3NT.
A surprising ♦ lead came from North that went to south’s queen and Andrea’s ace. To make the contract, she had to solve the ♣ suit. In order to get count on the hand, she cashed ♦KJ as well and south showed out on the third round. This placed north with 5♥ and 4♦. Had north had two or fewer spades, that would leave at least six for south, who then would have preempted in spades in the opening. This marked north with at least three spades and therefore shortage in clubs.
Andrea played a club to the ace and finessed south’s Qxx on the way back to make the contract. Conclusions are not only to be drawn from what opponents bid, but just as well what they do not bid. If they don’t preempt in spades, they likely do not have six of them. The whole hand:
Sunday: The Decisive Day
Finally the last and the most important day. We were practically tied for first place going into the last 35 hands. After the top two pairs there was a fairly big gap to third, but not more than could be collected with the boards remaining. We started the day playing against our main competition – the pair we were tied with for first. On the third board, Abragi picked up:
First seat white vs red, he opened 1♣. We play a system where all 18-19 balanced hands (except 5M) opens this, so the possibility of longer diamonds was systemic.
LHO overcalled 1♠ and Andrea made a negative double, showing at least four hearts. RHO passed.
Practically the entire field had this position, some after opening 1♦ rather than 1♣. Abragi was the only one to bid what made our only kibitzer say “oh”. He reasoned that if we were making game, chances were that this would often times be at least two off. And if we could even make a slam, that would give Andrea enough cards to probably beat the contract by three or more.
With the vulnerabilities screaming for it, Andreas passed 1♠X. When the dust had settled, we had collected +1100 to beat even the pairs bidding and making 6♦. The entire hand:
One Bad Board: Playing in Their Suit
You sit in second seat, red vs white. RHO opens 2♥ showing a preemptive hand with both majors, at least 54 either way. You pass, and LHO raises the preempt to 3♥. Partner takeout doubles and RHO passes. What do you bid?
This is a scary position since partner does not promise spades for their double.
On the other hand, we might very well want to play in spades even on a 4-1 trump split if partner has 4-card support. Andreas had this hand and saw various options. Looking back at the position, he is upset with himself for not finding the winning call.
With opponents being white vs red, modern style suggests hyper aggressive preempts. For that reason, passing out takeout doubles with no clear bid is often the winning call. Andreas instead elected to bid 3♠, which put Andrea in a tough position.
When she decided to pass, we were stuck playing one of our opponents suits on a 4-2 fit. -200 with 3NT making on correct play.
Not the strongest performance from our side, but over 121 boards accidents and not very well thought-through decisions occur from time to time. The whole hand:
Final standings
All Sunday was more than what we could wish for, we were always plus and no expensive boards. Last round to go we already won, more than 20VP down to second place. We won! Riga next! ♥
After 121 boards, we finished 1st overall with 147 points, representing Överums BK – Storsjöbygdens BK.
Asplund Sivelind & Asplund secured 2nd place with 98 points for LudvikaBygdens BK, followed by Ahlesved & Ahlesved in 3rd with 44 points for Örebridgen – Uppsalabridgen.
In 4th place, Näs & Karlsson scored 35 points representing Storsjöbygdens BK – Gävle BK. Bertheau & Bertheau finished 5th with 10 points for BK S:t Erik – Storsjöbygdens BK, while Nilsmark & Säfsten took 6th place with -1 point, representing BK S:t Erik.
Did you like this story from Andrea and Abragi?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
Congrats to both of you, and great article really cool to read!!